Co-presented by 92Y and NCECA, Virtual Clay™ is a series of real-time online experiences that gather a vibrant community of artists, designers, and art historians to speak with you about current topics in ceramics. The series hopes to challenge preconceptions and explore new territory, inspiring you to think about the world and ceramic art in fresh and different ways. Next up in the series at 7:00 PM (EST) on Wednesday, February 20, 2019, is Annabeth Rosen presenting You can only go to a new place once. Pre-registration is required by noon on the day of the event.

I thought about titling this post “Marvelous Marge” or “Marge the Magnificent”…..both absolutely fitting descriptive titles. But then I thought “Marge in Charge,” since she announced last year during her closing lecture that she has been “in charge since I was 5″, I’m sorry, I don’t work well in a group, I just always end up in charge”. (that’s paraphrased). Basically there were a ton of titles I could have picked, but then I thought to myself. WWMD? (What would Marge do?) and of course, there was only one choice for the title. Last year, Marge’s closing lecture was, I think, the presentation that I personally was most looking forward to. You see, in our great collective family of clay, we often refer trace our lineage by teacher as we would our family through our parents and grandparents. My teacher was Larry Brow at the Lawrence Arts Center, his teacher was Bunny McBride at the University of Iowa, which makes Bunny my clay grandfather. And Keith Williams was at school there at the same time, so he’s my uncle, and so on… (it’s actually a fun NCECA game to play, much like 7 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon). But I digress. Back to Marge….She taught ceramics at Purdue Univeristy with my real life ACTUAL father, so in a way, she’s like “Aunt Marge” to me (though I wasn’t actually BORN when she and dad taught together). And of course, she’s that super cool aunt who does all the things you want to do and who you just want to grow up and be half as amazing as she is. It’s no secret, obviously, that I think the world of Marge, and yes, I DO often think to myself “WWMD”. So why did I wait nearly a year before posting her closing lecture? Let me explain….

I’m releasing this video now, shortly before we all meet in Portland in much the same way a television show which has been on its long annual break will give you a “last season on….” before the first episode of the new season. So enjoy reflecting on the magic of Kansas City with Magical Marge’s words of wisdom from the closing of our last conference, and then prepare for Portland and making more memories.

And really people, haven’t you ever heard of saving the best for last? Thank you Marge, for an amazing closing to our 50th conference.

NCECA is excited to announce that we have FOUR compilations of the 2016 Process Room sessions available for immediate delivery via digital download! Each compilation contains the best of instruction and demonstration from four sessions and is approximately 40 minutes in length. Buy one video for only $19.99 or save $5.00 and get the set of four compilations for $74.99.

Thursday afternoon at the conference provided an incredible opportunity for a double dose of glaze geekery. First, William Carty, Keith Simpson and Hyojin Lee presented a panel on safety in the studio, specifically regarding stains. After a short break, Matt Katz took the stage to inform the audience on durable glazes. If you missed it, you’re in luck, because they are now available on the NCECA YouTube channel in a combined video!

What do you get when you cross a brewer, a failed high school teacher, and a former advisor to Napoleon? Either the setup for a really bad joke, OR one of the most misunderstood yet vitally important tools in the ceramics studio, the electric kiln. Watch the “clay replay” video of David Sturm’s presentation from our 2016 conference and learn how and why electric kilns work, what the parts do, and what is on the horizon.

Back to school season seems to be an ideal time to remind ourselves of Karen Atkinson’s popular session at the 2016 conference. Get Your $h!t Together and get your semester started right! Check it out below, and be sure to visit our YouTube channel for more conference session replays!